DeGeorge, who has been a teacher and coach at Lake for the past 15 years, replaces long-time Blue Streak coach Jeff Durbin who stepped down recently after 23 successful seasons leading the football program.

DeGeorge is a 1997 graduate of Malone College where he was a four-year letter-winner for the Pioneers and started all 42 games during his collegiate career. He was a three-year captain and an NAIA all-American. He was inducted to the Malone Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

He joined the Blue Streak staff as an assistant coach in 1997 and was chosen as the offensive coordinator in 2003. During his tenure, Lake qualified for the OHSAA state playoffs in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010. The Blue Streaks finished as Division II state semifinalists in 2010.

“Dan rose to the top very quickly as we assessed his strengths with potential candidates,” Lake Director of Athletics Bruce Brown said. “One of the areas we work at in our process here at Lake is succession planning. Dan has done his preparation for this opportunity over many years of serving our program and our young people. What became clearer in the interview process was his own blueprint to grow the program by increasing student engagement and community support. He fits perfectly in our culture of supporting multi-sport involvement by our students.”

DeGeorge guided Lake offenses to set several school records with total yards and scoring.

“Our objective in the search process was geared specifically toward what our school and community have been clear in their expectations from our athletic programs: we want the best education-based athletic experience to be balanced with a high-quality classroom performance from our coaches,” Lake Principal Kevin Tobin said. “Of all the candidates that officially or unofficially inquired about the position, we felt Dan best fit those requisites. He has proven in the past 15years his level of passion for Lake as a community, his dedication to a 100 percent commitment in the classroom and on the field and has demonstrated his technical grasp to make the Blue Streaks very competitive every contest.”

DeGeorge will continue to teach middle school social studies. He and his wife, Ali, a teacher at Uniontown Elementary School, have four children (Drew, Emma, Abby and Ty) and live in the Lake Local School District.